The newly-combined CenturyLink/Level 3 reported mixed financial results during Q4 2017, but CenturyLink's president and COO Jeff Storey said that the company will be relying heavily on partners to move its strategic IT and managed services going forward.

Aerohive says the launch of three new high-performance 802.11ax access points and the new Atom pluggable access point will make Wi-Fi easier, more efficient and more flexible for customers and partners.

With a total net add of 4.1 million wireless customers during Q4 2017, a 55 percent virtualized network, and increased net income due to tax reform, AT&T said during its earnings call that it closed out the final quarter of the year with a bang.

Renewed fears around Chinese espionage efforts have thwarted an anticipated partnership between Huawei and Verizon, which has reportedly succumbed to political pressure from the U.S. government and won't be going ahead with plans to sell Huawei phones.

Cisco says partners stand to make recurring revenue gains with life-cycle management and security services and the company has made a significant investment to motivate the channel to push the new capabilities.

"We're changing the industry. It's the biggest investment we have ever made in terms of activating the channel," according to Nirav Sheth, VP of sales and systems engineering in Cisco's global partner organization.

TPx Communications rounds out its channel leadership team with the hiring of telecom channel veteran Greg Iuzzolino, who tells CRN he wants partners to know 'who the new TPx is and what products and services we have.'